Texas Basketball: Why Mohamed Bamba Will Commit to the Longhorns

The race for Mohamed Bamba is nearing its end, but with all the momentum Texas Basketball has with him, they should end up landing him.

Mohamed Bamba is quickly becoming the talk of college basketball recruiting. He’s one of the best uncommitted athletes remaining, and may be the top recruit for 2017. It’s why some of the top schools in the nation have gone after him, including the Texas Basketball program.

It starts with Bamba’s daunting size at 6′ 11”, which Draft Express has down at 7” from the Hoop Summit. Then, there’s the wingspan of 7′ 9”, an incredible number that paints the picture of Bamba being a tremendous rim protector, something that should work its wonders in the college game.

Of course, there’s the 216-pound weight that Draft Express also has down for Bamba, which may pose problems, at first. However, the school that nabs the Westtown School product should be able to get him into the weight room to help build strength.

Even if there are flaws in Bamba’s game, he still has all the potential to be an All-American on the college level. It’s something that any school will crave, potentially Texas.

Adding Bamba would give a more than adequate replacement for the departing big man, Jarrett Allen. The 2017 NBA Draft entrant provided one of the lone bright spots in a disappointing season for the Longhorns, averaging over 13 points and eight rebounds per game, picking up some of the slack that Tevin Mack left behind.

Allen had the body of a prototypical center, weighing 235 pounds. He used his size around the rim on both offense and defense, averaging 1.5 blocks per game. No other player on the roster can replace this production, along with the commits that are already coming in for the 2017-18 season. It’s possible someone like James Banks gets more playing time, but one would think he gets overlapped if Bamba heads to Austin.

More from Texas Basketball Recruiting

Adding the No. 2 overall player from 247Sports.com would also be the icing on the cake of an already-talented recruiting class for Shaka Smart. He brought in four four-star recruits, all of whom can step into roles for next season. This includes point guard Matt Coleman, who’s expected to provide production at a position Texas struggled mightily with in 2016-17. He, and the rest of this class, represent a promising future for the Burnt Orange.

If Bamba joins Coleman and the others, there’s the opportunity for this team to make noise in the Big 12. The potential is there for things to improve, which he could be at the forefront of, essentially becoming the face of the Texas Basketball roster. That’s something he wouldn’t have at other schools like Duke and Kansas, who already have loaded rosters. If the ability to be the star of a team is intriguing enough for Bamba, then playing his collegiate career with the Longhorns may make the most sense.

Next: UT Players Competing for NBA Title

Will Bamba join the Texas Longhorns for 2017-18? If he does, there’s potential for this season to shatter anything that happened in last year’s disappointing campaign.

Home/Texas Basketball Recruiting